Taking a stand against violence

Long Beach community leaders, city officials march to protest shootings

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Doris Stephens will never forget the call she received nearly a year ago, informing her that her grandson, 4-year-old Treyshawn Stephens, had been shot. The boy had been playing football with his mother in the living room of their apartment at the Channel Park Homes when he was struck by an errant bullet.

“We were in the hospital for six hours,” Stephens recounted, standing in front of the Evangel Revival Community Church on National Boulevard, just yards from where the incident happened. “The bullet came through the glass, came through two walls and hit him in the ear. His ear split … he had to have plastic surgery that night. But thank God he’s OK. He’s doing fine and he is so active, but we could have lost him that day. Just a little bit further and … he could have been gone.”

Police arrested the suspected gunman, Obe Isaac, hours after the incident, thanks in part to help from community members, residents said. Isaac had allegedly opened fire during a verbal dispute outside the housing unit, missing his intended target. It was one of a number of shootings that rocked the community last year, including one in November, when gunfire rang out across from a bus stop as children were getting home from school.

“They were shooting when [my daughter] got off the school bus, and it just scared her,” said Melissa Miller.

Stephens, Miller and other relatives of victims of gun violence shared their stories during an anti-violence rally and march last Saturday, where they were joined by local clergy, City Council members Anissa Moore and Scott Mandel, Police Commissioner Mike Tangney, City Manager Jack Schnirman and local civic leaders, in the hope of preventing more shootings — and other types of violence and abuse — and encouraging residents who witness such incidents to speak up and cooperate with police.

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